HOBART   COLLEGE   BULLETINS 


Vol.  vn 


October,  1908 


No.    1 


KbbxtBB  to  %  Alumni 

ffiprnmg  nf  William  Swttlj  (Efllleg* 

Announr?m?nt0 


Published  by  Hobart  College,  Geneva,  N.  Y.    Issued  quarterly. 

Entered  October  28,  1902,  at  Geneva,  N.  Y.,  as  second-class 

matter,  under  Act  of  Congress  of  July  i6,   1894. 


I 


ADDRESS  TO  THE  ALUMNI 

Gentlemen  of  the  Alumni: 

The  opening  of  the  academic  year  saw  also  the  opening 
of  William  Smith  College,  and  a  full  account  of  the  pro- 
ceedings is  contained  in  the  present  Bulletin.  As  a  pref- 
ace to  this  account  I  beg  leave  to  present  a  short  state- 
ment for  your  special  consideration. 

When  due  allowance  is  made  for  the  hard  times,  which 
have  affected  to  an  exceptional  degree  young  men  of 
moderate  means  as  well  as  those  who  are  dependent  upon 
their  individual  exertions  to  meet  their  College  expenses, 
the  size  of  the  entering  class  gives  good  ground  for  en- 
couragement. Forty-four  new  men  have  already  regis- 
tered together  with  twenty-two  young  women,  making  a 
total  of  sixty-six.  Sixty-one  former  students  returned 
to  College  out  of  the  seventy-eight  which  remained  after 
the  graduating  class  left  Geneva  and  we  have  therefore  on 
our  roll  today  one  hundred  five  men  and  twenty-two 
women  or  one  hundred  twenty-seven  in  all.  The  num- 
ber of  the  entering  class  of  men  is  slightly  above  the 
average  of  the  past  five  years  and  is  the  third  largest 
among  the  six  classes  which  have  presented  themselves 
during  the  present  administration.  The  total  increase 
for  the  past  five  years  over  the  preceding  five  years  is  a 
little  more  than  ten  per  cent.  Now  when  it  is  remembered 
that  up  to  the  present  time  we  have  not  only  been  unable 
to  offer  courses  in  Biology  or  Political  Economy  but  have 
also  been  without  a  Gymnasium,  any  increase  in  the 
student  body,  competition  with  better  equipped  institu- 


4  Hobart  College 

tions  being  what  it  is,  is  more  than  could  have  been 
rationally  expected.  We  have  at  last,  however,  a  full 
College  Faculty  with  the  possible  exception  of  a  chair  of 
Geology.  Such  a  state  of  things  is  one  in  which  all  loyal 
Hobart  men  should  rejoice  and  we  may  now  in  all  reason 
look  for  better  and  greater  growth  than  ever  before. 

Nevertheless,  although  we  have  good  ground  for 
expecting  bigger  Freshman  classes  in  the  future  than  we 
have  had  in  the  past,  we  cannot  afford  to  rely  exclusively 
upon  our  improved  equipment  for  results.  Hobart  Col- 
lege is  not  by  any  means  as  well  known  as  many  other 
institutions  of  similar  size  and  quality  and,  therefore,  a 
campaign  of  aggressive  work  upon  the  part  of  the  Alumni 
all  over  the  country  is  urgently  needed.  There  never 
was  a  time  in  the  history  of  their  Alma  Mater  when  such  a 
campaign  could  be  more  conscientiously  and  enthusiasti- 
cally undertaken  than  now.  There  are  indeed  some  sons 
of  Hobart  who  never  fail  to  send  us  students  every  year 
and  their  activity  and  success  are  clear  indications  of 
what  might  be  accomplished  if  the  rest  of  the  family 
would  but  follow  their  example. 

On  the  other  hand  it  is  undoubtedly  true  that  the  task 
of  obtaining  students  for  the  small  College  is  a  difficult 
one,  while  the  further  task  of  retaining  the  students  after 
they  have  once  registered  is  far  from  easy.  In  this  con- 
nection it  is  best  for  me  to  frankly  tell  the  Alumni  that 
Hobart  seems  always  to  have  lost  an  unusually  large  pro- 
portion of  her  students,  or  to  put  the  same  thing  in 
another  way  she  seems  for  a  long  time  to  have  graduated 
but  a  relatively  small  number  of  those  who  come  to  her. 
Many  causes  have  no  doubt  contributed  to  this  discon- 
certing and  undesirable  result.  There  are,  however,  two 
causes  in  particular  which  because  they  are  the  most 


Address  to  the  Alumni  5 

potent  ones  should  be  squarely   faced   and   understood. 

The  first  of  these  causes  is  the  admission  of  special  stu- 
dents or  of  men  who  desire  to  do  a  year  or  so  of  college 
work  but  who  never  expect  to  take  a  degree.  It  is  but 
right  the  Alumni  should  know  that  I  have  seriously  con- 
sidered the  elimination  of  all  special  students  whatsoever 
but  that  I  have  been  deterred  from  taking  this  step 
because  of  a  strong  disinclination  to  withhold  from  many 
worthy  fellows  the  modicum  of  college  training  they  are 
able  to  afford.  In  these  days  of  technical  schools  many 
young  men,  who  because  of  limited  means  or  of  adolescent 
impatience  feel  they  cannot  afford  a  full  college  course, 
wish  to  have  at  least  two  years  of  collegiate  training  as  a 
propaedeutic  to  their  professional  studies.  In  the  interest 
of  such  men  in  particular  and  of  the  community  in 
general  it  seems  desirable  that  they  should  receive  all  the 
education  they  are  willing  to  take.  At  the  same  time  it 
ought  to  be  said  that  we  have  striven  to  lessen  the  num- 
ber of  special  students  and  to  limit  them  to  those  who 
have  some  serious  purpose  in  view.  To  this  end  we  now 
demand  of  special  students  twenty-five  counts  for  en- 
trance instead  of  the  twenty  formerly  required  and  also 
try  to  assure  ourselves  that  their  intention  in  coming  to 
college  is  to  work  and  not  to  play  ball.  It  remains  a 
fact,  however,  that  the  special  student  does  not  receive  a 
degree  and  his  presence  in  college  is  one  undoubted  rea- 
son why  the  proportion  of  men  who  graduate  is  as  small 
as  it  is. 

But  the  presence  of  the  special  student  is  not'the  only 
reason  for  the  losses  which  the  student  body  yearly  sus- 
tains. Another  principal  cause  of  these  losses  is  the 
slender  pecuniary  capital  of  a  number  of  our  students. 
These  men  are  compelled  to  work  hard  during  term  time 


6  Hobart  College 

as  well  as  through  the  vacations  to  provide  money  for 
their  board  and  clothing.  In  many  cases  they  are  com- 
pelled to  give  up  and  drop  out.  Geneva  does  not  provide 
positions  for  self-help  which  larger  cities  such  as  Rochester 
and  Syracuse  afford,  and  therefore  many  of  our  men 
leave  us  for  colleges  with  bigger  scholarships  and  ampler 
facilities  for  earning  money. 

j  Now  I  have  brought  these  facts  to  the  attention  of  the 
Alumni  in  order  that  they  may  better  understand  the 
situation  in  Geneva  and  not  expect  of  us  the  impossible. 
We  have  had  great  difficulties  to  contend  against  but  we 
believe  that  in  time  we  shall  in  large  part  overcome  them. 
The  present  condition  of  affairs  is  one  of  emphatic  im- 
provement. I  am  happy  to  report  that  we  have  managed 
to  hold  an  increased  number  of  students  during  the  past 
three  years  and  that  a  larger  proportion  of  the  last  Fresh- 
man class  became  Sophomores  this  September  than  in  any 
previous  year  of  my  administration.  These  are  but  a 
few  of  the  favorable  signs  that  are  visible  today  and  I 
trust  that  the  Alumni  with  more  hope  than  formerly  and 
with  a  better  comprehension  of  our  task  will  do  what  in 
them  lies  to  send  us  students  and  the  money  wherewith 
we  may  educate  them  and  provide  for  the  needs  of  Alma 
Mater. 

Faithfully  yours, 
Langdon  C.  Stewardson. 


THE  OPENING  OF  WILLIAM  SMITH  COLLEGE 

The  Opening  of  William  Smith  College  took  place  on 
Saturday  afternoon,  September  19th,  in  Coxe  Hall. 
After  prayer  by  the  Chaplain,  President  Stewardson 
made  the  following  introductory  remarks : 

"In  the  name  of  the  Trustees  of  Hobart  College,  I  here- 
with declare  the  William  Smith  College  for  Women  open. 

"The  entering  Freshman  class  numbers  twenty-one, 
which,  with  the  forty-three  new  men  who  have  just 
entered  Hobart  College,  makes  a  total  enrollment  of 
sixty-four  new  students.  Others  are  still  expected  to 
register.  This  showing  we  are  glad  to  state  puts  to  rout 
the  gloomy  forebodings  of  some  people  that  our  new 
venture  would  fail  of  itself  as  well  as  diminish  the  number 
of  undergraduate  men. 

"The  President  has  received  hundreds  of  congratulatory 
letters  and  telegrams  from  Alumni  and  Trustees  of 
Hobart  College  and  from  sister  institutions  of  learning. 
It  will,  of  course,  be  impossible  for  him  to  read  all  these 
messages  of  good  will  but  he  has  selected  a  few  of  them  as 
demanding  special  recognition  on  this  occasion.  These 
are  from  President  Thwing  of  Western  Reserve  Univer- 
sity, Bishop  Paret  of  Maryland  and  Miss  Emily  Black- 
well,  M.D. 

"With  a  larger  entering  class  than  we  expected  and 
with  the  best  wishes  of  our  friends,  the  birth  of  this  new 
department  of  Hobart  College  is  an  auspicious  one  and  it 
should  fill  all  Hobart  men  with  hope  and  courage.  In 
particular,  are  they  aboundingly  grateful  to  Mr.  William 
Smith,  who  is  on  my  right  hand  today,  for  his  munificent 


8  Hobart  College 

gift.  This  is  indeed  a  time  of  magnificent  benefactions, 
and  yet  this  gift  of  Mr.  Smith  stands  second  to  none  in 
the  fact  that  it  constitutes  by  far  the  larger  part  of  his 
fortune.  In  the  name  of  Hobart  College  I  extend  to  him 
the  profound  appreciation  of  the  Trustees  and  Faculty, 
the  Alumni  and  students,  and  pledge  him  their  hearty 
co-operation  in  the  carrying  out  of  his  central  idea. 

"What  is  this  idea?  It  is  briefly  this,  that  the  system 
of  education  should  be  so  shaped  as  to  develop  men  and 
women  for  nobler  and  ampler  qualities  of  life  and  that  its 
object  should  be  to  inspire  its  recipients  with  a  desire  to 
render  the  conditions  of  life  more  propitious  for  the  evolu- 
tion of  man's  entire  capital — physical  and  intellectual, 
moral  and  spiritual.  In  speaking  with  Mr.  Smith  the 
other  day,  I  reminded  him  that  he  had  endowed  three 
new  professorships,  Biology,  Psychology  and  Economics 
and  Sociology.  "Ah,"  he  said,  "but  have  you  appointed 
a  professor  of  the  spiritual  life?"  I  said,  "No,  because 
the  spiritual  life  is  the  monopoly  of  no  one  class  or  profes- 
sion. The  spiritual  life  expresses  itself  in  many  ways; 
in  language  and  science,  art  and  letters,  religion  and 
morals;  therefore  each  true  professor  seeks  to  make  his 
special  branch  of  learning  or  research  a  minister  of  the 
spiritual  life.  Every  good  teacher  seeks  not  only  to 
instruct  men  in  the  knowledge  and  technicalities  of  his 
chosen  subject  of  study  but  also  to  show  them  how  this 
study  may  bring  about  a  more  completely  rounded  life. 
We  are  all  then  dedicated  by  our  office  and  ministry  to 
the  glad  task  of  inspiring  human  life  and  bettering  its 
conditions,  and  we  assure  Mr.  Smith  that  each  man  in  his 
sphere  and  station  will  be  alive  to  the  claims  of  life  and 
eager  to  give  these  claims  their  due  acknowledgment  and 
Binple  satisfaction." 


The  Opening  of  William  Smith  College  9 

MAYOR    ROSE'S    ADDRESS 

President  Stewardson  then  introduced  Mayor  Rose  in 
the  following  words : 

"It  is  an  ancient  and  beautiful  fable  that  the  fairies 
come  to  bless  the  new  born  life  with  their  gifts.  There 
are  those  here  today  who  have  brought  with  them  those 
beneficent  gifts  of  sympathy  and  good  will  without 
which  no  institutional  or  human  life  can  prosper  as  it 
should.  The  pleasure  of  introducing  them  to  you  is  the 
privilege  of  my  position. 

"The  first  is  an  honored  citizen  of  Geneva  and  a  beloved 
Alumnus  of  this  College,  one  who  is  busy  in  season  and 
out  of  season  in  the  works  of  beneficent  and  high  minded 
life.  He  is  here  today  as  the  especial  representative  of 
the  Alumni  of  the  College.  I  have  the  gratification  of 
presenting  the  Hon.  Arthur  P.  Rose,  Mayor  of  the  City  of 
Geneva,  Hobart,  '62." 

Mayor  Rose  spoke  as  follows: 

"Dr.  Stewardson  has  asked  me  to  say  a  few  words  in 
behalf  of  the  alumni  of  the  college,  on  this  occasion  of  the 
opening  of  the  Smith  School  for  Women.  Though  I  can- 
not claim  the  title  of  oldest  living  alumnus,  yet  I  have 
been  more  or  less  connected  with,  or  familiar  with,  the 
college  and  its  alumni  for  more  than  half  the  period  of  its 
existence,  and  doubtless  on  that  account  Dr.  Stewardson 
has  considered  me  competent  to  speak  for  them. 

"It  has  been  a  question  in  the  minds  of  many  what 
effect  this  new  departure  of  a  Women's  College  would 
have  upon  the  minds  of  the  alumni,  in  whose  days  such 
a  departure  was  not  thought  of.  And  here  I  am  reminded 
that  not  all  of  our  alumni  are  of  the  sterner  sex.  The 
house  that  we  are  to  open  this  evening  is  named  after  a 


io  Hobart  College 

most  distinguished  alumna, Dr. Elizabeth  Blackwell — still 
living,  the  first  woman  to  graduate  from  a  medical  col- 
lege in  this  country. 

4 'It  must  be  confessed  that  there  is  a  strong  prejudice 
against  co-education  in  the  mind  of  the  average  young 
person  of  the  male  sex.  The  small  boy  looks  down  upon 
his  sisters  as  being  not  as  strong  as  he,  and  not  able  to  do 
the  athletic  'stunts'  and  play  the  games  in  which  he 
delights.  It  is  a  severe  punishment  to  be  sent  to  sit  on 
the  bench  with  the  girls,  in  the  school.  And  I  think  that 
this  feeling  is  accentuated  by  the  fact  that  the  girls  have 
a  way  of  leading  their  classes  and  taking  prizes  which  is 
quite  disgusting  to  the  average  boy.  I  do  not  think  the 
'co-eds'  are  popular  with  the  young  men  in  any  institu- 
tion where  they  exist.  We  all  know  that  the  influence 
of  woman  is  refining,  and  all  that,  but  how  can  it  be 
exerted  if  the  young  men  refuse  to  recognize  or  associate 
with  the  young  women? 

"If  it  had  been  designed  to  make  of  Hobart  a  co-educa- 
tional institution,  I  do  not  think  that  the  alumni,  old  or 
young,  would  have  taken  kindly  to  the  plan,  or  would 
have  kept  up  all  of  their  present  interest  in  the  college. 
But  fortunately,  such  was  not  the  design  of  the  founders 
of  the  Smith  School.  It  has  been  determined,  most 
wisely  as  I  think,  that  the  Smith  School  for  Women  shall 
be  co-ordinate  to  the  College  proper. 

"It  is  my  firm  belief  that  this  new  departure  will  be 
welcomed  by  all  the  alumni  of  Hobart,  old  and  young. 
At  least,  I  have  not  yet  heard  a  dissenting  voice.  Those 
who  arc  to  follow  me  will  tell  you  just  what  is  proposed 
to  be  done.  I  (lose  by  saying  that  the  increased  facili- 
ties and  opportunities  offered  to  the  undergraduates, 
both  young  men  and  young  women,  will  make  us  older 


The  Opening  of  William  Smith  College  ii 

alumni  regret  that  we  cannot  take  our  college  course  over 
again." 

MRS.    COMSTOCK'S    ADDRESS 

The  next  speaker  was  introduced  in  these  words: 
"In  perfecting  the  plans  for  the  William  Smith  College 
the  President  has  had  the  assistance  of  many  able  and 
worthy  counsellors.  One  of  them  has  kindly  consented 
to  address  you  today.  She  has  helped  us  by  her  sound, 
good  sense  and  knowledge  as  well  as  by  her  large  woman's 
heart.  She  is  a  valued  instructor  at  a  neighboring  uni- 
versity and  she  is  also  a  Trustee  of  this  College,  Mrs.  Anna 
B.  Comstock,  of  Hobart  and  Cornell." 

Mrs.  Comstock  spoke  as  follows: 

"In  coming  before  you  today,  it  has  seemed  to  me  a 
privilege  to  speak  to  you  of  the  ideas  and  hopes  which 
have  led  to  the  foundation  of  this  new  College.  To  pre- 
sent to  you  an  outlook  upon  the  methods  of  education  to 
be  followed  here,  — the  studies  to  be  here  emphasized. 

"The  inaugural  of  the  William  Smith  College  is  some- 
thing more  than  the  mere  opening  of  a  new  college  for 
women.  It  has  come  to  mean  something  more  to  those 
of  us  who  have  been  associated  with  the  Founder  during 
the  past  three  or  four  years,  and  who  have  thus  come  to 
know  his  ideals.  He  has  from  the  first  had  in  mind  a 
distinct  type  of  education  for  women  which  this  college 
should  give ;  and  to  those  who  are  interested  in  the  his- 
tory of  education  and  who  can,  in  a  measure,  predict  its 
future,  it  has  seemed  that  our  honored  Founder  has 
reached  out  through  the  educational  mists  and  found  his 
way  to  the  citadel  of  truest  learning.  It  has  been  from 
the  first  his  desire  to  fit  women  for  living  and  to  found  a 
college  that  shall  give  to  them,  in  greatest  measure,  the 


i2  Hobart  College 

fullness  of  life ;  that  shall  give  them  the  power  to  control 
life  instead  of  being  driven  by  it — the  power  to  bring  into 
each  day  a  consciousness  of  the  richness  and  potency  of 
life —  the  power  to  take  the  day  and  its  duties  as  a  refresh- 
ing draught  instead  of  something  to  be  swallowed  as 
quickly  as  possible  and  out  of  the  way;  the  power  to 
overflow  with  exhilaration  of  life  instead  of  the  fatigue  of 
it;  the  power  to  deal  meaningly  with  life  instead  of  to 
putter  with  it. 

4 'It  behooves  those  of  us  to  whom  this  enterprise  has 
been  entrusted  to  think  well  before  we  allow  the  trammels 
of  established  educational  methods  to  fall  upon  us  with 
paralyzing  force ;  it  behooves  us  to  look  thoughtfully  on 
the  higher  education  of  the  past  and  the  present,  that  we 
may  choose  only  that  which  shall  carry  out  the  ideals  of 
our  Founder. 

"In  the  past  every  age  has  developed  its  own  definition 
and  methods  of  education  to  fit  the  special  needs  of  those . 
whom  it  sought  to  educate.  But  whatever  the  age  or  the 
time  or  wherever  the  place  it  is  true  that  colleges  have 
been  built  and  college  courses  planned  for  some  special 
class  or  classes  of  pupils;  and  those  not  belonging  to 
special  classes  yet  who  desired  an  education  had  to  take 
what  was  prepared  for  others.  They  were  not  permitted 
to  gather  the  crumbs  from  the  educational  table  accord- 
ing to  their  taste,  but  were  obliged  to  gorge  the  whole 
menu  and  digest  it  as  best  they  might.  This  has  been 
true  of  men  in  the  past  and  still  more  true  of  women; 
and  because  of  the  effort  of  the  many  to  use  one  kind  of 
learning  for  all  kinds  of  work,  we  finally  came  to  define 
education  as  simply  the  power  to  use  the  mind.  We  sub- 
ordinated  the  idea  of  gaining  mental  riches  and  put  all 
stress  upon  mental  li  veliness  and  agility ;  we  gave  the  pupils 


The  Opening  of  William  Smith  College  13 

mental  power  to  attain  without  giving  them  any  very- 
clear  ideas  or  worthy  ideals  of  what  there  was  to  attain. 

'To  be  sure  there  were  always  the  riches  of  the  classics 
and  other  literatures  and  philosophy,  and  to  some,  there- 
fore, the  college  course  flung  open  the  gates  to  wider  cul- 
ture and  interest ;  but  I  ask  of  any  of  you  who  have  taught 
these  subjects  to  answer  this  question:  "What  propor- 
tion of  your  pupils  went  far  enough  in  these  subjects  so 
that  you  felt  sure  that  they  would  prove  in  the  future  a 
comforting  resource,  a  well  of  refreshment  to  spirit  and 
mind?" 

"  Within  the  memory  of  most  of  us  there  came  the 
reaction  against  the  old  learning,  and  the  college  curricu- 
lum was  widened  and  changed  to  fit  the  needs  of  the 
many.  Technical  colleges  were  established ;  the  sciences 
found  great  buildings  and  laboratories  in  which  to  grow; 
domestic  science  and  manual  training  were  made  part  of 
college  work  and  introduced  into  the  secondary  schools. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  tendency  of  the  college 
and  university  in  America  today  is  to  fit  pupils  to  do 
whatever  work  the  world  gives  them  to  do.  A  great  step* 
forward  surely,  but  it  seems  to  me  that  although  we  fit 
pupils  to  do  what  they  may  have  to  do  we  have  signally 
failed  to  fit  them  to  be  all  that  they  might  be.  While 
doing  and  being  are  close  partners  yet  they  are  two  very 
different  elements  of  the  personality,  and  the  question 
before  educators  today  is  how  to  make  our  institutions  of 
learning  equal  to  fitting  the  spirit  and  mind  as  well  as  the 
physical  body ;  to  form  ideals  and  character  as  well  as  to 
train  the  mind ;  to  send  forth  pupils  with  all  that  is  good 
in  them  well  developed,  to  enable  them  to  give  to  the 
world  the  full  measure  of  their  capacity,  and  to  receive 
from  the  world  the  full  measure  of  what  it  has  to  give  to 


14  Hobart  College 

those  who  are  fit  to  receive.  In  other  words,  making 
them  capable  of  receiving  life  in  it?  fullest  measure.  This 
problem  lies  before  the  Trustees  of  the  William  Smith 
College  almost  as  a  condition  of  our  foundation.  How 
are  we  to  solve  it  ? 

"It  is  not  to  be  done  by  widening  our  curriculum  to  a 
great  extent  and  permitting  or  requiring  our  pupils  to 
cover  a  wider  range  of  subjects.  This  is,  in  fact,  the 
weakest  place  in  our  present  educational  system  both  in 
secondary  schools  and  universities,  and  it  is  a  peril  which 
we  have  not  yet  learned  to  cope  with.  By  trying  to 
learn  too  many  things  nothing  is  learned  well.  It  has 
led  to  a  development  in  our  pupils  of  what  one  eloquent 
college  youth  terms  a  'thoroughly  lubricated  hundred 
horse  power  forgettery.'  They  have  learned  to  remem- 
ber up  to  the  day  of  examination  rather  than  to  have 
learned  the  subject.  A  memory  so  expedient  as  this  can 
scarcely  be  termed  a  memory,  but  is  instead,  a  specially 
developed  sense. 

"This  calls  to  mind  an  incident:  Just  before  the  holi- 
days one  year  I  was  going  to  New  York  and  noticed  in  the 
car  a  number  of  young  men  whom  I  could  not  place. 
They  did  not  seem  like  college  boys  nor  like  ordinary 
boys.  Four  of  them  sat  in  facing  seats  ahead  of  mine  and 
began  a  spirited  argument;  but  the  topic  argued  was 
unknown  to  me  and  so  were  the  authorities  quoted. 
One  seemed  to  have  made  a  statement  that  was  quite 
heretical  and  the  other  three  were  seeking  to  convince 
him  of  his  error.  I  was  quite  bewildered,  but  I  finally 
concluded  that  they  must  be  theologians  and  later  dis- 
covered that  they  were  from  a  Catholic  seminary  in 
Rochester  and  then  my  bewilderment  was  quite  explica- 
ble because   i    had  been  trained  at  theologyless  Cornell 


The  Opening  of  William  Smith  College  15 

where  Dr.  Schmidt  says  'we  do  not  know  a  heresy  when 
we  see  it.'  Meanwhile  the  law  was  being  laid  down  to 
the  heretic  in  front  of  me;  one  said  to  him, 'Where  is  your 
theology  to  back  you?'  and  another  said  'You  can  find 
no  authority  for  this  in  philosophy,'  and  another  sharply 
demanded,  'Where  is  your  logic?'  But  he  remained 
stubborn  and  the  argument  waxed  until  we  neared  Scran- 
ton  when  the  four  arose  and  prepared  to  leave  the  car, 
and  the  heretic  said  in  a  conciliatory  manner,  'Well,  we 
are  getting  near  home  and  now  for  two  weeks  we  can  for- 
get our  philosophy  and  our  theology  and  our  logic,'  at 
which  his  seat  companion  said,  sliding  his  arm  affection- 
ately around  his  shoulder,  'Ah,  Jamie,  you  will  have  a 
hard  time  forgetting  the  things  you  never  knew!' 

"It  is  true  that  today  many  of  the  subjects  which  our 
pupils  take  they  never  know,  and  the  result  is  lament- 
able. Not  that  it  would  be  for  the  memory  to  be  bur- 
dened with  everything  one  has  to  learn,  but  today  this 
taking  of  subjects  to  forget  them, smacks  too  much  of  the 
process  by  which  the  ancient  Romans  enabled  themselves 
to  gorge  at  their  banquets. 

"I  am  not  so  sure  that  the  methods  of  Mohammedan 
Universities  are  so  dangerous.  I  had  the  pleasure  last 
winter  to  visit  a  Mohammedan  University  in  the  Gamia  el 
Azhar  in  Cairo  and  had  an  opportunity  for  seeing  this 
other  extreme  of  educational  method  where  everything 
learned  must  be  remembered.  There  in  that  great 
courtyard  and  its  surrounding  arcade  were  a  fair  share  of 
the  four  thousand  students  in  present  attendance  at  this 
greatest  of  Mohammedan  institutions.  The  mosc  of 
them  were  sitting  on  the  ground  and  were  rocking  to  and 
fro  and  repeating  their  lines  over  and  over  aloud,  mak- 
ing perhaps  less  noise  than  we  hear  at  one  of  our  large 


i 6  Hob art  College 

receptions.  For  every  thirty  of  forty  pupils  was  a 
teacher,  long  bearded  and  with  huge  turban,  also  sitting 
cross-legged  on  the  floor, and  when  a  pupil  wished  to  recite 
he  drew  near  the  teacher  and  still  weaving  his  body  to  and 
fro  recited  his  lesson,  and  the  teacher  in  listening  often 
moved  his  body  to  and  fro  and  muttered  the  lines  in  con- 
cert. And  this  university  has  a  library  of  thousands  of 
volumes,  all  of  which  are  the  Koran  or  grammars  of  the 
Koran.  These  pupils  had  no  use  for  a  'forgettery,'  they 
were  packing  the  Koran  away  in  their  memories  so  that 
they  would  never  forget  a  word. 

"Somewhere  between  these  two  extremes  of  studying 
and  forgetting  and  studying  and  remembering  must  lie 
the  golden  mean,  which  we  must  discover  for  the  future 
of  the  William  Smith  College,  a  college  where  woman 
should  gain  her  education  by  best  methods  and  least 
waste  of  energy. 

"As  to  our  curriculum,  let  us  ask  ourselves  first,  what 
are  the  educational  needs  of  women  which  must  here  be 
ministered  unto.  As  a  woman  and  from  a  life  spent  with 
college  women  may  I  be  pardoned  if  I  formulate  some  of 
the  things  which  seem  necessary  to  the  development  of 
any  woman  whatever  her  walk  in  life,  whether  she  be  the 
mother  of  a  family,  an  educator,  or  a  professional  woman. 

"(i)  Her  spiritual  training  should  be  broad  and  pro- 
gressive, for  though  in  the  past  many  a  woman  through 
the  heart's  alchemy  has  transmuted  a  cast  iron  theology 
into  the  gold  of  a  beautiful  life,  yet  history  gives  us  too 
many  examples  of  the  evil  wrought  by  good  women  with 
a  narrow  spiritual  outlook.  Too  much  has  woman's 
spiritual  life  been  emotional,  and  it  would  surprise  many 
a  woman  to  be  told  that  spiritual  life  is  not  just  feelings 
nor  is  it  just  convictions.      It  is  a  force  and  should  be 


The  Opening  of  William  Smith  College  17 

made  an  intelligent  force.  It  was  for  this  that  our 
honored  Founder  wishes  a  thorough  training  in  psychol- 
ogy to  be  made  the  knowledge  basis  for  the  spiritual  train- 
ing in  the  William  Smith  College. 

11  (2)  Her  character  should  be  built  high  with  integrity 
and  yet  on  the  broad  foundations  of  sympathy  and  under- 
standing of  her  fellow  beings.  It  is  a  platitude  that 
character  building  should  be  a  part  of  College  life;  it  is 
always  a  part  of  college  life,  but  teachers  have  perhaps 
less  to  do  with  it  than  the  fellow  pupils.  In  this  new 
college  of  ours  may  we  not  hope  that  the  college  home, 
the  close  relations  of  the  women  in  it  may  be  such  in  this 
respect  as  to  supplement  the  teacher's  influence  and  the 
college  course. 

"(3)  She  should  be  fitted  to  be  a  social  factor  in  the 
life  about  her.  I  do  not  mean  by  this  that  she  should  be 
merely  what  we  are  pleased  to  term  a  society  woman ;  she 
should  know  how,  for  the  woman  who  does  not  know  how 
to  meet  the  world  with  pleasing  manners  is  sadly  handi- 
capped. I  am  glad  to  have  the  William  Smith  College 
co-ordinate  with  Hobart  for  social  reasons,  for  I  believe 
that  a  fair  amount  of  social  gaiety  during  a  college  course 
is  the  proper  part  of  a  girl's  development.  I  know  it  has 
been  a  great  help  to  our  Cornell  women,  and  right  here  I 
should  like  to  make  a  statement  concerning  the  social  life 
of  the  women  of  Cornell.  I  have  been  as  student  and  as 
Faculty  member  for  thirty-four  years  closely  connected 
with  the  women  of  Cornell,  and  I  think  that  any  one  who 
knows  me  will  also  say  that  I  have  been  as  widely  in 
touch  with  Cornell  men  of  all  classes.  You  doubtless  have 
heard  many  of  the  rumors  that  there  are  a  certain  class 
of  young  men  who  always  have  been  opposed  to  co-educa- 
tion, and  they  are  the  ones  who  give  their  opinion  to  the 


1 8  HobartXollegeJ| 

world,  especially  when  they  are  freshmen  and  sopho- 
mores. But  the  large  number  of  the  men  who  are  with 
us  take  it  as  a  matter  of  course  that  the  girls  are  there  and 
do  not  give  the  matter  much  thought.  I  should  say  a 
fair  proportion  of  the  student  body,  those  who  have  been 
educated  in  our  high  schools,  look  with  favor  upon  the 
presence  of  the  young  women.  In  any  case  our  women 
have  plenty  of  pleasant  social  life,  all  rumors  to  the  con- 
trary. The  last  time  I  was  present  during  a  calling  even- 
ing at  Sage  College  there  were  more  men  present  than 
women.  Our  young  women  learn  to  be  charming  hostes- 
ses; their  college  experience  gives  them  greater  social 
resources.  But  not  only  should  the  woman  be  fitted  to 
meet  society  pleasantly,  she  should  also  be  given  the 
power  to  vivify  her  social  surroundings.  Her  human 
interests  must  be  alert  and  sympathetic,  and  from  her 
nature  must  be  eliminated  jealousy  and  pettiness  which,  N 
are  perhaps  the  chief  feminine  vices ;  and  for  the  elimina- 
tion of  these  there  is  just  one  surest  method,  and  that  is 
to  give  women  broad  interests  and  plenty  of  healthful 
intellectual  activity.  These  so-called  vices  are,  I  am 
convinced,  not  so  inherent  in  the  feminine  character  as 
they  are  the  result  of  narrow  thinking,  of  limited  intellect- 
ual life  and  consequent  ingrowing  egotism. 

44  (4 j  As  a  corrollary  to  character  building  and  to 
social  power  is  the  next  great  need  in  woman's  education, 
and  that  is  a  wide  and  thorough  intellectual  training 
along  the  lines  of  her  chief  interests.  And  she  should 
specialize  in  some  subject  until  she  masters  it,  and  should 
gain  only  the  subject  matter  as  a  store  of  riches  for  future 
!.  but  she  should  have  the  mental  equipment  to 
enable  her  to  add  to  it.  The  subject  she  chooses  is  not 
important  so  long  as  it  is  to  her  interesting.      It  may  be 


The  Opening  of  William  Smith  College  19 

the  classics  or  modern  literature,  philosophy,  mathemat- 
ics, science,  art,  or  music.  I  care  not  what  it  is  so  long 
as  it  is  some  line  of  intellectual  activity  in  which  her 
interest  is  so  strong  that  it  shall, in  the  future,  keep  her 
from  that  other  not  wholly  feminine  failing  dilettanteism. 
Scattering  her  forces  and  wasting  her  time  dabbling  in 
many  things  has  been  not  so  much  woman's  fault  as  the 
fault  of  her  education  and  circumstances.  But  if  she 
gains  a  keen  interest  in  some  study  during  her  college 
course,  it  will  remain  to  her  what  any  woman  or  man 
needs,  and  the  busier  and  harder  the  life  the  more  they 
need  it,  i.  e.,  an  absorbingly  interesting  avocation;  some- 
thing that  lifts  one  completely  out  of  the  hard  and  fast 
grooves  of  every  day  duties  and  sets  the  mind,  the  spirit 
and  even  the  tired  body  free  so  that  when  they  return  to 
the  routine  they  are  not  only  refreshed  but  energized. 
And,  above  all  others,  the  woman  who  is  the  wife,  the 
mother  and  the  home-keeper  needs  such  a  resource  to 
keep  her  spirits  refreshed  and  her  thoughts  from  becoming 
morbid.  The  sanest  woman  I  know,  and  men  too  for 
that  matter,  are  kept  sane  and  rested  and  active  because 
of  this  interest  in  some  subject  which  brings  riches  from 
afar  into  the  necessarily  monotonous  grind  of  daily  duties. 
It  is  as  the  shadow  of  a  rock  in  a  weary  land.  There  are 
some  who  criticize  the  feminine  energy  put  into  bridge 
whist  these  recent  years ;  but  this  has  always  seemed  to 
me  another  evidence  of  woman's  need  for  an  interest 
outside  the  routine.  Her  college  training  should  give 
woman  such  a  wide  vision  of  things  worth  while  to  do 
that  she  need  not  necessarily  be  forced  into  gaming 
because  of  this  inner  need. 

"(5)     A  part  of  woman's  college  training  should  fit  her 
for  making  a  home  what  it  should  be.     Whether  she 


20  Hobart  College 

marries  or  not  this  need  remains ;  a  woman  needs  a  home 
by  nature  even  more  than  a  man.  Today  all  over  our 
country  teachers  and  the  women  who  are  working  in 
professions  or  otherwise  are  uniting,  three  or  four  to- 
gether and  making  homes.  No  woman  is  competent  for 
life  unless  she  is  trained  for  home-making.  Thorough 
courses  in  domestic  science  and  all  the  attendant  home- 
making  subjects  are  the  chief  factors  of  this  part  of 
woman's  preparation,  and  yet  they  are  by  no  means  all. 
Everything  she  gains  in  her  whole  college  course  must 
necessarily  go  to  make  her  more  competent  and  so 
develop  her  tastes  and  individuality  that  as  you  enter  her 
home  you  feel  her  presence  and  her  personality  permeat- 
ing everything  to  make  the  place  more  home-like. 

"(6)  A  college  education  should  also  teach  women 
how  to  care  for  and  educate  children.  Whether  they  are 
her  own  children  or  those  of  other  people,  if  she  is  a  true 
woman  she  will  find  her  own  important  place  in  influenc- 
ing the  young  life  about  her.  She  will  meet  life  better 
if  she  has  a  sympathetic  and  healthful  attitude  toward 
the  children  of  the  world.  One  thing  our  colleges  and 
universities  of  today  have  done  is  to  make  the  mother 
capable  of  sharing  the  intellectual  life  of  her  children ;  not 
as  a  dominating  force,  but  as  an  intellectual  companion. 
I  know  of  no  more  beautiful  relationship  than  I  have 
witnessed  in  many  instances  where  the  boy  struggling 
with  his  high  school  studies  turns  naturally  and  inevita- 
bly to  his  mother  for  help  and  sympathy;  it  gives  her 
another  strong  hold  upon  her  son  at  a  period  when  her 
companionship  counts  for  most.  But  in  addition  to  this 
which  follows  naturally  from  a  college  training,  there 
should  be  in  every  woman's  college  a  course  in  education 
and  in  psychology  and  child  study  that  shall  give  the  girl 


The  Opening  of  William  Smith  College  21 

a  scientific  as  well  as  a  sympathetic  basis  for  her  future 
relation  to  the  young. 

"Last,  but  not  least,  she  should  know  how  to  preserve 
her  health  and  energy.  She  should  have  scientific  physi- 
cal culture,  a  knowledge  of  hygiene  and  a  rational  theory 
of  physical  life.  But  physical  culture  is  not  all  there  is 
to  a  truly  healthful  life;  the  spiritual  outlook  has  as 
rnuch  to  do  with  health  as  does  physical  training  and  the 
two  react  upon  each  other.  Woman's  entire  college 
experience  should  come  to  her  aid  and  give  her  food  for 
thought  and  a  broad  culture  which  will  make  her  world 
so  wide  that  she  cannot  rationally  feel  that  she  is  the  cen- 
ter of  it,  the  pivot  on  which  it  whirls,  a  state  of  mind 
never  conducive  to  health.  On  the  contrary,  she  will 
find  it  such  an  interesting  world  that  she  will  rejoice  that 
she  is  even  an  infinitesimal  part  of  it ;  and  the  person  who 
is  at  heart  optimistic  and  full  of  faith  and  who  has  plenty 
of  mental  and  physical  occupation  is  never  sick  through 
mental  invitation.  Even  the  unbiquitous  microbes 
seem  to  avoid  such  ones;  the  diseased  microbes  cannot 
withstand  sunshine  and  perhaps  mental  sunshine  is  as 
potent  as  solar  light. 

"It  is  not  too  much  for  us  to  hope  that  the  William 
Smith  College  will  do  all  of  these  things  for  women  and 
more;  because  if  it  does  these  things  it  must  do  more.  It 
will  develop  and  build  the  woman  within  herself  so  that 
whatever  her  environment,  whether  her  feet  tread 
marble  halls  or  follow  the  paths  of  the  lowly,  whether  she 
lives  in  the  retirement  of  a  home  or  goes  out  to  work  for 
the  world  she  shall  be  equal  to  the  tasks  which  come  to  her 
hand.  Such  strength  as  this,  such  power  to  look  frankly 
and  cheerfully  and  understanding^  on  whatever  fate 
may  bring  can  only  come  from  a  strength  and  sweetness 


22  Hobart  College 

builded  within.  College  education  cannot  do  all  of  it; 
thank  Heaven  there  are  women  now  and  in  the  past  who 
have  attained  this  height  without  this  help ;  otherwise, 
the  world  would  not  have  been  gladdened  by  their 
presence.  But  the  right  college  education  can  bring 
many  up  to  this  standard  who  could  not  attain  it  other- 
wise. 

"That  the  William  Smith  College  may  thus  train  the 
women  of  the  future  we  have  the  faith  to  believe,  but  it 
will  not  do  it  by  being  another  boy's  college  for  girls,  nor 
by  following  slavishly,  lines  of  education  laid  down  by 
other  women's  colleges.  It  must  somehow  take  the 
individual  and  develop  her  as  she  needs  to  be  developed, 
to  prune  her  as  she  needs  pruning,  at  the  same  time  not 
coddle  her  individuality  which  is  the  most  fatal  mistake 
of  all.  She  should  find  simply  in  this  college, opportunity 
to  develop  all  her  latent  powers  of  the  right  sort,  so^that 
when  she  goes  out  she  and  we  shall  feel  that  her  growth 
has  been  so  sane  and  normal  and  vigorous  that  we  shall  be 
serenely  glad  to  give  her  to  the  world  and  the  world  to 
her;  then  shall  both  the  women  and  the  world  call 
blessed  this  William  Smith  College,  and  then  only  shall 
we  have  fulfilled  the  ideals  of  our  honored  Founder. 

DR.    DOWNING'S    ADDRESS 
Dr.  A.  S.  Downing  of  the  Education  Department  of  the 
State  of  New  York  was  the  next  speaker,  and  was  intro- 
duced as  follows: 

"The  opening  of  William  Smith  College  is  an  event 
which  is  welcomed  by  the  Educational  Department  of  the 
State.  I  am  glad  to  announce  that  this  department  is 
represented  here  this  afternoon,  and  by  one  who  has  been 
loni/  associated  with  educational  interests  and  who  has 


The  Opening  of  William  Smith  College  23 

but  lately  been  appointed  First  Assistant  Commissioner 
of  Education  of  the  State  of  New  York.  I  have  the 
honor  of  introducing  the  Hon.  Augustus  S.  Downing, 
LL.D." 

Dr.  Downing  spoke  briefly  of  the  interest  which  the 
Educational  Department  felt  in  the  new  College,  wishing 
the  enterprise  success  and  prosperity  and  promised  the 
assistance  of  the  department  in  any  way  possible. 

DEAN   TURK'S   ADDRESS 

The  last  speaker  was  Dean  Milton  Haight  Turk,  Ph.D., 
who  was  introduced  by  Dr.  Stewardson,  as  follows: 

1  'There  is  upon  the  platform  this  afternoon  a  member  of 
the  Faculty  of  Hobart  College,  to  whom  Mr.  William 
Smith  and  all  who  are  connected  with  the  new  institution 
owe  a  debt  of  gratitude.  By  knowledge  of  academic 
affairs  and  mastery  of  their  details,  by  tact  and  patience 
and  ability,  he  has  qualified  himself  for  the  new  and 
arduous  duties  he  has  undertaken.  Much  of  the  good 
work  already  accomplished  is  due  to  his  wise  judgment 
and  painstaking  labors  and  it  therefore  affords  me  a 
peculiar  pleasure  in  presenting  to  you  my  valued  colleague 
the  Dean  of  William  Smith  College,  Dr.  Milton  Haight 
Turk." 

Dean  Turk  spoke  as  follows : 
Mr.  President: 

"Your  Faculty  is  mindful  of  the  importance,  the 
seriousness  of  this  occasion.  Long  years  of  service  have 
led  some  of  us  to  this  day,  and  we  feel  deeply  its  signifi- 
cance. It  is  not  alone  that  such  events  as  this  dignify 
our  quiet  lives.  We  see  before  us  new  problems,  new 
interests,  new  opportunities.  We  cannot  but  share  the 
inspiration  of  this  hour  of  beginning,  and  the  confidence 


24  Hobart  College 

born  of  new  enterprise — that  extreme  blessing  of  man's 
lot — is  ours  today,  as  it  has,  we  trust,  through  these  past 
months  been  yours.  For  the  larger  work  which  we  have 
now  to  do  we  pledge  you,  Sir,  an  equal  loyalty  and  an 
undiminished  zeal. 

4 'Among  our  own  people,  whose  ancestors  saw  a  college 
open  its  doors  here  so  many  years  ago,  and  through  the 
wise  generosity  of  our  fellow  townsman,  we  are  happily 
gathered  to  inaugurate  this  new  undertaking.  In  a  very 
real  sense,  however,  in  a  very  deep  sense,  we  cannot  open 
a  college  today.  This  college  for  women  will  open  itself, 
the  soul  and  life  of  it — only  as  the  hearts  and  lives  of  men 
and  women  are  poured  into  it  from  day  to  day.  After  all, 
personality  is  the  great  privilege  and  power  of  institu- 
tions as  it  is  of  men,  and  personality  comes  to  them,  as  it 
comes  to  all  of  us,  with  the  human  years. 

"Yet  we  need  not  be  denied  our  day  of  untfammeled 
hopes.  We  believe  that  this  college,  enduring  long  after 
we  are  forgotten,  will  watch,  as  others  her  sisters  have 
watched,  the  solution  of  destinies — fearless  of  her  own 
fate,  seeing  that  her  sole  object  is  the  people's  good.  It 
may  be  trite,  but  it  can  never  be  idle,  to  reflect  upon  the 
young  life  that  shall  pass  through  her  doors.  We  were 
all  of  that  goodly  company  once.  Some  of  us  have  lived 
since ;  we  all  lived  then.  And  it  may  be  not  the  least  of 
the  functions  of  education  so  to  inform  the  spirits  and 
enlarge  the  lives  of  men  and  women  as  to  prolong  youth 
beyond  its  allotted  years.  We  trust  at  least  that  such 
may  be  the  fruits  of  this  new  endeavor;  more  to  do,  more 
to  think  of,  more  to  care  for,  some  help  thereby  toward 
the  hard  lessons  of  sympathy  and  charity — to  judge  gently 
and  despise  nothing  human — the  blessing  of  a  broader  and 
a  brighter  and  a  sweeter  life. 


The  Opening  of  William  Smith  College  25 

"And,  finally,  I  would  desire  my  students  to  remember 
this.  Nothing  that  I  can  say  here  can  avail  with  the  least 
that  each  one  of  us  may  do  here.  We  that  live  in  this 
college  must  remember  that  we  have  also  to  live  for  it. 
We  have  to  earn  not  merely  to  receive  its  future  at 
God's  hands.  The  excitement  and  the  elation  of  this 
hour  recede:  we  turn  to  the  years  of  duty  and  oppor- 
tunity that  await  us." 

BLACKWELL  HOUSE 

On  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  Elizabeth  Blackwell 
House,  the  women's  dormitory,  was  opened  with  a  recep- 
tion given  by  President  and  Mrs.  Stewardson.  This  was 
largely  attended  by  guests  from  Geneva  and  those  who 
had  come  from  other  places  to  attend  the  exercises  of  the 
day.  It  is  said  to  have  been  the  largest  reception  ever 
held  in  Geneva. 


CHANGES  IN  THE  FACULTY 

As  has  been  stated  previously  three  new  professorships 
are  made  possible  upon  the  William  Smith  Foundation 
and  these  are  filled  this  fall  for  the  first  time. 

Professor  Elon  Howard  Eaton,  A.B.,  1890,  A.M.,  1893, 
Rochester  University,  fills  the  chair  of  Biology.  He  has 
taught  in  Canandaigua  and  Rochester  and  done  post- 
graduate work  at  Columbia  University  and  at  the  Marine 
Laboratory  at  Wood's  Holl. 

Professor  James  M.  Williams,  A.B.,  1898,  Brown,  B.D., 

1901,  Union  Theological  Seminary,  Ph.D.,  Columbia, 
1906,  has  been  appointed  Assistant  Professor  of  Eco- 
nomics and  Sociology.  For  four  years  he  was  engaged  in 
research  work  in  various  parts  of  the  country  under  the 
direction  of  Columbia  University.  He  was  professor  of 
Economics  in  the  New  York  College  of  Liberal  Arts  in 
1906-7  and  lecturer  at  Vassar  College,  1907-8. 

Professor  Foster  P.  Boswell,  A.B.,  Hobart  1901,  A.M., 

1902,  Ph.D.,  1904,  Harvard,  is  assistant  professor  of 
Psychology  and  Mathematics.  He  was  assistant  in 
Philosophy  at  Harvard  University,  1903-04,  and  assistant 
in  Psychology  at  the  University  of  Wisconsin,  1904-05. 
He  studied  at  Berlin,  Leipzig  and  Freiburg  in  1905-06 
and  was  Voluntary  Assistant  in  Physiology  at  Berlin. 
He  was  assistant  in  Psychology  at  the  University  of 
Missouri  during  the  year  1907-08,  and  has  published  a 
number  of  papers  in  German  and  American  Psychological 
periodicals. 

Mr.  Stoddard  Stevens  More,  A.B.,  1908,  University  of 
Michigan,   has    been    appointed    instructor    in    Modern 


Changes  in  the  Faculty  27 

languages,  a  new  position  made  necessary  by  the  work  in 
William  Smith  College.  Mr.  Ernest  W.  Dean,  A.B.,  1908 
Clark  College,  comes  as  instructor  in  Chemistry  to  fill  the 
vacancy  due  to  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Stokes. 

The  following  appointments  are  exclusively  for  Wil- 
liam Smith  College:  Mrs.  Katherine  M.  Hussey  of 
Northampton,  Massachusetts,  as  Mistress  of  Blackwell 
House,  and  William  Irving  Lyon,  Esq.,  of  Rochester,  as 
Head  of  the  Department  of  Music. 


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